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THE LION'S DEN

Welcome to The Lions Den! Facts and figures are one thing. My opinion is something entirely different. I'll get right to the heart of things on my mind and since this is my first "Den" commentary-I'll stick to the issues regarding education on abuse. As you have read in my previous statistics there are 60 MILLION survivors of sexual and physical abuse in the United States since 1993 From 1993-2003 my estimates based on past figures indicate that there will be minimally 30 MILLION more cases of child and sexual abuse over this ten year period while abuse figures average 3 MILLION + annually in the United States.

What is NOT reported is a nightmare At present there are 300,000 child soldiers under the age of 16 fighting in armed conflicts world-wide. Whats happening in our schools? 13 dead in the Columbine massacre-18 dead in a school in Germany-there are several shootings at schools throughout the United States and the devastating story of a 12 year old boy-taunted & bullied so much by his classmates to the point of walking into school with a gun-and committing suicide-in front of his classmates.

I once had not one-but two people remark to me-we dont care what happens.. over there... (regarding the school shootings outside the US-as long as its not here-) I could go on-and on and on. The stories speak for themselves. I wonder how these two feel now about the recent Russian slaughter of 360+ adults and children in a Russian school by terrorists who wounded 500 ? More than 160 that died were children and it was filmed by the terrorists who shot innocent children and adults in the back as they were running away. If its possible.... my spirit groans while I write this-but we must-stand strong and go on. We have seen the face ...of pure evil...in the gruesome slaughter of innocent children and adults under these circumstances.

We have seen the deplorable scenes and conditions on an international scale of children in Afghanistan & Iraq. Lets not forget the upheavals in Serbia-Croatia-Bosnia- Somalia-Spain- Africa-North & South Korea-Russia China & more. These global conflicts strike fear and terror into the hearts and minds of the children-communities and societies in which they live.

This is a moment where I will applaud our United States Armed Forces and Coalition Armed Forces for the fine job they are doing under difficult circumstances protecting our country and for the efforts made toward rebuilding schools and hospitals in those countries and seeing to it that children in a war torn country go BACK TO SCHOOL- while helping to restore governing persons and freedoms to vote! ( Albeit under very difficult circumstances).

Moving on-I remember a comment made at a human resources training conference for teacher interviews that I attended about a northern city in the US where on any given day-a student that walked to school-had to make his way through no less than 60 street gangs. What ARE we doing about this? I WONDER!.

In the United States our educational systems are under terrible stress from the economic catastrophe of war and terrorism. 911 has created havoc in our country and we must be dedicated to reversing our losses. It is a challenging & difficult time in our lives with no easy answers or solutions-but-onward & upward we must go.

School systems are struggling-city control boards are dealing with financial issues-many on the verge of bankruptcy are occurring now more than ever. Politics is not the "keep the same person in forever" or the “same party forever”but is creating more of a "lets find out what the problem is" and "WHO" gets the problem resolved.

In Buffalo-one city under control board review - it is not a pretty sight as the schools keep closing down-inner city teachers are needed more than ever-police and firefighter jobs are on the line. The memory of 911 with the heroics of our police-firefighters-community-political spiritual and civilians implanted just as fresh as yesterday-but with a difference-these people and jobs are in a SURVIVAL MODE.

What about California with a 39-40 BILLION DOLLAR DEFICIT-Arnold is a big man-can he pull the right people together to get the job done-well see? Taking a quick look at Buffalo and California-they both have one thing in common-the Democratic party essentially has been the power base-For Buffalo--their politics leave a lot to be desired-why-because the Democratic party has been in charge-there arent many or few Republicans to put the blame on-if it isnt working-WHY NOT?-you can scream at the Senior & Jr Senators(Schumer & Clinton) from New York(both Democrats) & a Republican Governor-(Pataki) for more money but it doesnt change the fact that the politics in Buffalo havent worked and we have not done the proper job of managing the city & its many departments. The school closings are a SERIOUS issue.

As for California-I remember the recent recall election of Gray Davis when Arnold Schwarzennegger became Governor-and his biggest challenge will be the Democratic party and THEIR cooperation-they let him know it as well- Alls fair in politics & maybe not so fair-but it seems to me that working together to resolve the blatant overspending and mismanagement of departments and tax payers money is SERIOUS and takes a closer look by the VOTERS who need to take care of their cities-communities and education systems by putting into public office the people that will get the job done.

I am not on a Democratic bashing tirade-One of My life mottos-"The Truth Is what It Is". This years BUSH vs KERRY Presidential election in 2004 will be one for the record books by the time all the mud slinging is over. Well soon see who the last man is (and maybe some day-who the last WOMAN is standing . I might add that Hillary is NOT the only woman capable of getting the job done. There are many fine women on both sides of the political ladder Republican and Democrat worthy of discussion. Another subject for the near future to write on. I will also have information on other control board cities as available.

Getting back to the problem of schools shutting down-take a look at your area-how many schools are closed-how many have had to shut down-or close "temporarily".I went to a school meeting recently and the meeting was about changing school standards. I made it very clear (especially to the school board administrators and politicians present) that if you change school standards & it affects the teaching & reputation of a school-including the present & FUTURE students interested in going to that school-you will NEVER-NEVER-NEVER get your school back-or those students-once its tampered with and politics and "slice n dice" administrators come in. Your school is finished-lost its clarity and vision of the students its meant to reach.

I watched as red faced school board members smiled weakly and said "its about the money". Yeah-Right-and what about THE STUDENTS! Different forms of abuse & this is ONE of them-yet it doesnt have to be this way-VOTERS--KNOW YOUR POLITICIANS and parents-get involved in your schools!

Going back to the subject of child abuse education-Our children ARE the FUTURE-PULSE and LIFEFORCE of our planet. Nurture a child and they grow-abuse a child and the scars last a lifetime. As I said in “The Lions Imprint” governments know this-militaries know it-politicians know it- So do doctors-lawyers-educators-child care and child mental health professionals -law enforcement and those that deal in the “dark side” of human depravity and misery.

Experts are just some of the leaders to help fight the war on the battlefield regarding the issue of child abuse education. The only ones who dont truly know what abuse is-are the CHILDREN. The ones who suffer through the hellish nightmare that abuse is. I have read that children especially between the ages of 4-6 years old endure terrible shocks to the mind & body during traumatic moments-whether it is sexual-physical-terror-emotional-it can have an effect on the mind-many of these children develop photographic memories up to more than 40 times the power of a normal child-I can attest to the power of that kind of shock-as you read on through this website-you will understand my feelings & commentary on the subject of abuse.

The subject material here is sexual abuse-physical abuse-sexual exploitation-emotional and psychological abuse-fear-terror-intimidation-bullying-verbal abuse-manipulation and about the way we react and treat others-and this includes PARENTING-BIGTIME! We deal with our children/students reactively. Now changes must be made. Proactive education to treat the many issues of abuse need to be made in the classroom. 911 is the catalyst that changed everything. Look at our conflicts. Yes the United States has been vulnerable. Looking at our recent conflicts of WW1-WW2-Pearl Harbor-Korea-Vietnam-and the more recent conflicts of Grenada-Somalia-Lebanon-Desert Storm-Afghanistan-and Iraq-including the past history of terrorism too numerous to mention- has changed the way we live & look at life. Overprotection and hiding or sweeping issues of abuse under the carpet are not proper ways of dealing with the severity of the subject.

It is TIME that child welfare professionals bridge the gap between the educational systems and arm our children with the knowledge they need to survive. Our children-students if you will- are NOT punching bags to be slapped around-bullied-yelled at- kicked-chained up-terrorized- mind controlled. They are not to be- tossed aside-because you(the “parent”) didnt want the responsibility of caring-loving and raising a child. The mind of a child needs guidance and needs to be free to experience life from a "kinder-gentler" point of view. Child welfare experts can really make a huge difference in the teaching and structuring of child abuse education programs.

To prevent abuse-let THEM-TODAYS STUDENTS- TOMORROWS PARENTS & THE NEXT GENERATION-learn of childrens plights locally-nationally-internationally and globally. Who and where better to educate children but in our CLASSROOMS with the experience and expertise of teachers with child welfare professional guidance and more. Teachers can be taught to deal with this. As I stated there needs to be a forum that will bring together the right balance of professional disciplines from education-administration-politics-enforcement agencies- judiciaL representatives from the proper court systems-cult-de-programmers & psychological warfare experts-foster care advocates and the health & mental health fields and more-that will look at this subject from a fresh perspective and get something started and work on a testing area. Remember-the cost is high if you do NOTHING (like the 4.5 BILLION DOLLAR fiscal child 1998 welfare program costs for the US)resulting in the duality of mental health and psychological destruction that hits us in so many other areas like crime-drugs-pregnancy alcoholism and single families creating society and community costs in dollars and worse.

I know there are people out there that do care. Iin order to do so an evolutionary process of teaching and reaching students regarding abuse needs to be made. Children and teens can be taught this subject material and they must be taught accountablilty for the lives they will bring into this world.

As a survivor of abuse I know the heartache of losing family for forty years. In my world-faith and miracles exist because Ive seen them-experienced them-and worked to make them happen. I can exist in a world of bitterness but choose-NOT-to. Ive learned the importance of communication and the respect for those with leadership capabilities. Remember-child abuse has no boundaries and no discriminating factors. Its EVERYWHERE in numbers too big to ignore.

I appeal to those of you-who are communicators-who are leaders-who are people of vision and realize how important this is. Change needs to take place now-more than ever-our children-todays students-all need help on this subject-what better place to start this-than in the USA where we put our scandals and pain in the front window for the world to see-yet in a time of war-our country stands strong.

President George W. Bush is passionate about the safety of our country and "No Child Left Behind" stance on education while dealing with the tough issues of politics, the economy and education. While no program has all the answers-it is a start toward dealing with the severity of education issues in the United States. A lot more needs to be done regarding education and my comments I feel are critically important on the subject of Child Abuse Education in a curriculm setting. (The United States budget on education is the largest education spending budget to date). Our First Lady Laura Bush makes education a top priority, sorely needed and our First Lady backs it up with her lifestyle. Her stand on empowering women as a global communicator and her educational programs for women and girls in Afghanistan is to be commended.

As I wind down my first "Lions Den" article-some thoughts to consider. Just as abuse in its many forms knows no boundaries-the cure-if you will-through education should have no limitations. It should not be limited by politics nor closed minds. Its "cure" lies in the size of the visions and the hearts of those who wish to attack this evil problem that haunts society through the eyes and souls of its afflicted children.

I remember one day I was thinking about how to present this material to the website-a daunting task & I needed a break just to relax-I saw myself in my "minds eye" taking a walk-by myself-through a large green meadow-I had my Tamburitza instrument slung over my back like a Serenader or a Minstrel-and out of nowhere-they came running-to the left of me-the right of me-straight at me-and they werent happy-they were children-hundreds-thousands of them-and they were from every race and nationality and belief system.

The first child to reach me was Chinese-her face full of tears-then Black and Indian and White and Asian and Arab and Slavic and Irish and French - too numerous to count and I was overwhelmed. In the blink of an eye they were gone-and I was once again-alone.

This vision taught me-these children-needed a voice-they needed someone to BEGIN breaking down the barriers of abuse education. They are the souls of children in our present and future that are struggling with this issue. On my front web page-if you look closely, it looks like planets-but they are the faces of children. Chinese, African American- male/female. They- todays children are our universe-they are our present and our future-You need to know what hurts them-you should all know. How about..a talisman-a cure..EDUCATION..SOMEBODY..ANYBODY?
Extraordinary Education on abuse.... is truly needed!

"ALL CHILDREN NEED TO BE LOVED"

Global Child Mortality...January, 2010

I have had my TBL site up since 2004. As someone who has gone through the devastation of being forcibly removed from my home in 1957 by the Buffalo Police and the Social Services department, raised in the adoption system by loving parents and separated for 40 years from 16 siblings, abuse and child mortality is of great concern to me.

UNICEF statistics as of 2009 claim globally there were 8.8 million children that died in 2008. In 2007 that figure was 9.9 million. As of 1990 it was 12.7 million. The Millennium Development Project currently has reducing child mortality 4th on its list of 8 goals to achieve. UNICEF claims that 1 Billion US dollars per year can prevent 1 million children’s deaths each year. Multiply that times 10 and possibly you have a portion of the solution required to saving the rest of the planet. I truly believe that financially, this is a manageable and realistic goal to achieve.

UN Millennium Development Project Goals:

1) Eradicate Extreme Hunger and poverty
2) Achieve primary universal education
3) Promote gender equality and empower women
4) Reduce child mortality
5) Improve maternal health
6) Combat HIV, Malaria and other diseases
7) Ensure environmental sustainability
8) Develop a global understanding and development

The rest of the equation to reduce child mortality will come from the vision, hearts and souls using the combined efforts of the United Nations 192 countries, the World Health Organization (WHO) UNICEF,  the global wealthy and philanthropic minded (to include like minded organizations) to make this possible. Diplomacy being what it is, there is plenty of room for more help if we are truly serious about tackling such an ugly issue. Areas such as money, food, water, plumbing, electricity, water purification, basic health and sanitation services, transportation, infrastructure, technology, good leadership, government, bias, discrimination and corruption are some of the obstacles toward curing these global killers.

The problem comes in the form of the causes of such devastating death. Money is a huge problem. 80% of humanity according to The World Bank (May 2008) lives on less than $10 a day. If you were poor and made the move to the US from a poor country you would live on $1.45 per day adjusted for inflation. Not very much is it?

As of 2005 figures the worlds poorest consume 1.5% of consumer goods.  The middle 60% consumes 21.9% and the upper 20% consume 76.6%. 1.6 Billion live without electricity. South Asia-706 million, Sub Africa-547 million, East Asia-224 million and other countries 10 million.

The current economic crisis will cost lives. 1.1 Billion don’t have proper water in developing countries. 2.6 Billion lack proper sanitation. 660 million without sanitation live on less than $2 a day. 385 million live on less than $1 a day. Water use in the US is 660 litres a day. In the United Kingdom it is 150 litres a day. 1 Billion people have not used a toilet or bathroom facilities. 121 million children do not get any education up from my earlier figures of 115 million when I started my website in 2004. Nearly 1 Billion people who have entered the 21st century are unable to read a book.

A 2003 figure shows Saharan Africa loses 5% of it’s Gross Domestic Products or 28.4 Billion annually. Unbelievably this figure exceeds the total aid flow and debt relief to the region for that year. Reasons for the economic waste are due to water and sanitation problems. Malaria and diarrhea are global killers. 2.2 Billion rely on the world for help. 1 Billion are in poverty. 640 million live without shelter, 400 million without water and 270 million without health services.

Regarding education 72 million children in developing countries did not attend school. 57% of these were girls. Supposedly these numbers are optimistic? Underweight children are being targeted by The Millennium Development program and they hope these figures will decrease to 30 million. Progress is slow in Southern Asia and Saharan Africa. Poor conditions globally blight 40 million. There were 3 million AIDS deaths in 2004. Each year there are 300-500 million cases of malaria. 1 million fatalities alone from malaria. Africa has 90% of malaria fatalities and African children account for 80% of malaria fatalities globally.

UNICEF Child Death statistics as of 2009:

1) Southeast Asia 3 Million
2) Sub Saharan Africa 4.5 Million
3) East Asia and Pacific 800,000
4) Middle Eastern Africa 400,000
5) Latin American countries 300,000
6) Industrialized countries 100,000

Child deaths under age 5 are used as a barometer of children’s well being in an area. Use a higher age and rates increase. Global child mortality rates declined   from 12.7 million to 8.8 million from 1990-2009. The numbers are truly staggering.

Regarding the wealth on planet Earth as of 2004.The top 8.3 million people around the world rose by 8.2% to 30.8 TRILLION dollars. This small percentage of wealthy individuals gives them control of nearly 25% of the worlds financial assets as of 2004. 51% of these wealthiest are corporations. Considering we live on a planet with 6 Billion people on it these figures raise some eyebrows.

For every 1 dollar in financial aid a developing country receives, $25 is spent on debt repayment! The poorer the country the more likely it is that debt repayments are being extended directly to those few people that neither contracted the loans nor received the money. How can any country or any nation EVER get caught up when the interest repayments are backbreaking and self defeating? I have always stated the following:

Invest $1 dollar and receive back $1 dollar plus an additional 10 cents/ 10 percent interest for your investment. Now go and trace the source of the 10 % interest that you have made on your funds. When the dust has cleared and you trace every movement of your dollars interest through the banks and financial institutions to the source of where that interest comes from…In all probability, someone’s blood in the form of human slavery, low wages, hard work , poor working conditions or even someone’s LIFE…will have paid the price for your investment/interest. I respect what it takes to earn a dollar. Doing so however at the expense of economies and the blood of humanity that reaps interest negatively drives and effects the lives of children, creates poor economies, under education, poor health, unsanitary conditions, under development of countries and much of the misery they endure. How much is enough and when is it too much?

I make myself very clear in my next statement. As the United States of America: Teach the world to be LIKE us! Teach proper education, economics, banking and finance, housing, agriculture farming and the food industry, Doctoring, medical and healing, electricity, plumbing, water and complete technology in order to live and survive in the 21st century. Once again…Teach the world to be like US!

It is said that “the wealthiest nation in the world has the widest gap between rich and poor of any industrialized nation“.  Money is important and can buy anything if you have enough of it. It can save millions in lives in adults and children just on clean water and prevention of diarrhea and Malaria alone.

Through the UN Millennium Development Project, UNICEF, WHO, corporations and global wealth, the good hearts of Christian organizations, and loving people of all races and belief systems, we can pour into this world great love and great charity. Together we can make progress in reducing and eliminating the child mortality issue. I believe in our US prosperity and positive vision that we can make strides in working to help solve this great problem. Negativity will do no good. We MUST work together.

Other problems worth noting that affect global child mortality and abuse crisis. Mexico still leads in the category of child trafficking across the US border. Then there was the excellent televised November 2009 US blueberry scandal resulting in child labor violation exposure of children age 5 and older working for low wages. The Michigan based company was cited and blacklisted as a result of the program. That comes under the category of the agriculture industry which has thousands of injuries and low wage problems yearly. It is also why there is such an intense political issue between the US and Mexico allowing migrant workers to cross the border.
 
There is also much trouble across the southern US from California, New Mexico, Arizona, Texas, and Louisiana. New York City is a haven for child sex and trafficking. There is also child pornography, child exploitation, sexploitation, sex and slave trades, drugs, crime and much more that make the subject so difficult to deal with. A person trafficked to the US from China for example will have to have sex 400-500 times to pay off the $40,000 fees and higher in some cases. Not much has changed over the years even with better technology. Child abuse and global mortality IS a huge problem.

Many thanks to the law enforcement federal and state agencies that monitor child abuse, kidnapping, lost and runaway programs. Kudos to  international programs that do this as well.

For some it is “where/how do we begin to fix it” or even worse “can we fix it“? Are we beyond hope for solutions to mankind’s large problems? Some are not very optimistic but we are seeing signs of good progress! The hard question at hand is-while we have our share of problems as a country-can we and will we continue to strive toward putting an end to the  global child mortality problem?  Can we meet the goals of The UN Millennium Development project? Or UNICEF? Or the WHO? or The World Bank? Quite a double edged sword isn’t it?

IN closing and setting politics aside for the moment here is a truly sobering and heartbreaking thought. Remember as you snuggle in your warm beds (and I am blessed to have one of those) and your head hit’s the pillow that this night by midnight-more than 28,000 children will die around the world. Tomorrow is a new day and 28,000 more will line up to meet The Death Angel, and the next day 28,000 more will be ready to leave this plane of existence…and so on. They are numbers that are NOT up for discussion. They speak for itself. If it doesn’t bother you it should. It bothers me enough to write this article.

In closing…Happy New Year…May God  Bless America…and please remember…

“All Children Need T-B-L” To-Be-Loved!

“Not some or just a few of them…ALL of them”

PS: In 1998 we spent $780 Billion on the military, 200 Billion on narcotics and medication and $125 Billion on Alcohol.

$42 Billion was spent on water and sanitation, reproductive health, basic health and sanitation for all developed countries. I wonder what those 2009 statistics will be?

Priorities…anyone?

“Please…Pray for our children and adults around the world, for those hungry, cold, starving, dying, lost, hurt, abused, sick, crying, those without homes and parents, for tsunami and earthquake torn countries like Indonesia, Haiti and everywhere help is needed-that their cries for help and hope...are heard and answered. AMEN
                                                        
PPS…”In God We Trust“ (Motto of the United States of America“)

Ray “Rajko” Ranic-THE BALKAN LION/TBL 1/25/2010

"TBL"

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